


Illicit Affairs

by Yiffandquiff (paradisobound)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Business!AU, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:40:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradisobound/pseuds/Yiffandquiff
Summary: Dan and Phil are negotiating a deal to merge their two successful video game companies. However, stolen glances and secret meetings determine that the two men want more than a company merger: they want each other.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Illicit Affairs

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the @phandomreversebang for the beautiful art done by @onyxxstardust!

They had never met before. 

Dan knew that just by looking at the man across from him at the meeting. They had never met before, nor seen each other. But Dan couldn’t look away from him. 

The man was Phil Lester. Dan was introduced to him right before the meeting began. He was the head of Galacian Interactive: the new video game company that was making the rounds in the U.K. But that’s where the matters grew complicated because Dan was the head of Hearthstone: the  _ other  _ popular video game company that was  _ also  _ making the rounds in the U.K. 

It was a business meeting, because their competing companies are considering a merger. Dan didn’t have any insight into what was happening, he just had the file on his desk saying that the head of Galacian was requesting to meet for the  _ possibility  _ of one. And now they’re sat in the business meeting, and Dan cannot take his eyes off the dark haired male in front of him. 

He’s smart, incredibly so. He has an eloquence with words that Dan can't quite figure out how considering he stumbled and blushed on the way in. His glasses remained perched on his nose and every once and awhile, he bites the end of his pen and Dan can tell it’s from being anxious. It’s fine to be anxious, this is a big deal. 

But Dan finds it sexy. He finds the man in front of him to be attractive, painfully so. He feels a lust and a pull of attraction that is making it completely impossible for Dan to look away and  _ not  _ keep an eye on everything that Phil is doing. He’s studying him. 

Phil stands up suddenly, and he’s walking to the front of the table where a PowerPoint is projected on the whiteboard ahead. He fiddles with the laptop there for a brief moment and then pulls up a bunch of data that Dan knows are sales reports and other miscellaneous income projections. All budgeting, marketing... _ boring.  _

Dan normally finds these meetings boring. He knows he has to attend but his teams are the ones who keep the company afloat...not him. He’s just the face that keeps the company selling and approves the games before they go into development. His hands never touch the other data. It appears that for Phil’s company, this is not the case. 

Dan spaces out while Phil talks, not bothering to pay close attention because he’s too busy eyeing the sizable bulge that he is now noticing in the front of Phil’s pants. It’s big...impressive. Dan could have a lot of fun with something that  _ big.  _ He nearly groans out loud at the thought of how it must look, must feel. He almost has half a mind to crawl under the table and fish out the impressive size, licking and sucking it while everyone else watches from the table as Phil falls apart. 

But Dan knows that isn’t professional. He also doesn’t know Phil at all. He has no idea if Phil is even attracted to men in the same way that Dan himself is. Maybe Phil has zero want for him, but that doesn’t mean that Dan can’t dream a little bit. 

Phil claps his hands and Dan snaps out of his lust filled daydream to see Phil closing his laptop with a satisfied smile placed over his lips. The others around the room suddenly begin to ask questions and Phil answers but once again, Dan tunes it out, leaning his head onto his palm. 

The meeting finally ends not long after and Dan grabs his tablet and his books and makes his way to his office. He barely makes it through the door when someone knocks behind him and he nearly punches the wall in frustration. 

“Yes?” He asks, turning around. 

It’s his personal assistant Joanna. 

“Good afternoon, Mr. Howell. I hope the meeting went well.” 

“It did,” Dan answers her, trying to be polite in the best way he can for wanting to tell someone to  _ fuck off.  _

“Mr. Lester is requesting to have dinner at the Chaumot Hotel this evening to discuss any further legal proceedings. I have penciled it in for half past seven since your last meeting will end at five. Does this work for you?” 

Dan nearly collapses. Normally he would be upset about having to attend a dinner meeting, but given that it’s with Phil, he’s suddenly very happy. He knows this is the perfect time to talk with Phil, get to know him better. Have a few glasses of wine and lower some inhibitions and… 

“Mr. Howell…?” Joanna asks, cocking her head a bit as she looked at him. Almost like a confused puppy. 

“Oh yes, that’s fine, Joanna,” Dan says. “Arrange my car to pick me up and take me home by five thirty.” 

Joanna nods and leaves and Dan makes the call to lock his door from the inside so people would have to use the intercom if they wanted to come in. He sits at his desk and props his feet onto the wood, relaxing back in his chair. 

He’d never seen Phil Lester before today, but there is something telling him that dinner tonight is only going to be the beginning. 

* * *

As promised, Dan arrives at the hotel by seven thirty, which if anyone knows Dan, knows how difficult it is for him to be on time for everything. It’s gotten to be a habit where everyone just knows to start the meeting 10 to 15 minutes later than planned. 

But Dan wanted to be punctual tonight, so he made his utmost effort to be. 

When Dan walks through the revolving doors to the 5 star hotel, he’s greeted by Phil on the other side. He looks very professional. Newly pressed coat, slacks with no wrinkles, and shoes that shined brightly under the chandeliers. Dan walks over to him, and extends his hand where Phil meets him. 

And they greet for the second time that day. 

It starts with just a glass of red wine, that the waiter insisted paired perfectly with the cut of steak that Dan had ordered on his company card. But the one glass had turned into Phil asking Dan if he’d ever tried this cocktail and soon, the glass of wine turned into two cocktails and inebriated thoughts. 

Dan already had  _ less than  _ humble thoughts when it came to Phil, however, with the alcohol coursing through his veins, he felt them more than ever. That’s how during a conversation about the possible merger ended into Dan’s foot brushing against Phil’s thigh from across the booth. The brush then became a slow and gentle rub, and then Phil was blushing, a red flush under his pale complexion. 

But Dan was done playing...or so he thought. He didn’t think anything would happen and he was pushing it by doing anything else. Even in his tipsy state, he could still tell boundaries. But then Phil surprised him by slipping a card at him...a room card for this exact hotel. 

Dan looked up at him with a puzzled expression. Phil licked his lips and then flicked his eyes down at the card and back up to Dan, “Meet me there in 10. Knock three times and I’ll know it’s you.” 

And then Phil stood up from the table and left. The waiter came over to ask about the tab and Dan quickly sprouted to put whatever was left on the room on the card in front of him. Phil wouldn’t be paying for this anyway, he had to be sure of it. 

After a quick stop to the lobby bathroom where he freshened up as best as he could, he made his way to the elevator where he pressed the 12th floor and he rode the long way up all alone. When the doors opened, he looked around to see if anyone else was around and there was no one, which made him sigh a breath of relief. He made his way to room 1217 and knocked three times. 

When the door opened, Dan was greeted with an almost nude Phil in one of the hotels luxury bathrobes, posed against the wall, “You’re on time.” 

“I am,” Dan answers, his mouth going dry. 

“Do you want to do this?” 

With no hesitation, Dan nods his head and walks into the invited space.

* * *

That night, they made an arrangement. 

It came after two back to back rounds of mindblowing sex that Dan literally couldn’t get enough of. Phil dominated him, but in the best way possible. He left him breathless, helpless, crying for mercy as Phil did everything to him to bring him to the edge and then stop and push him back. Dan doesn’t think he’s ever cried during sex, but he cried with Phil because of the overwhelming pleasure. He never thought it could be that good. 

Phil was the one who suggested it. He said that he can arrange for his company to book this suite for months on end, and that they could meet there. Dan didn’t even have to think about anything before he quickly agreed. He wasn’t going to allow this amazing opportunity for more sex with Phil to slip from his grasp. 

But Phil had a few rules: 

  1. They meet once a month on the 1st Friday, 8pm sharp. 
  2. They don’t tell anyone about what is happening. 
  3. They use alias’
  4. They never let someone see them



Dan was okay with the rules because he knew what was on the line if anyone found out about them. Their companies were beginning to form a merger. Dan and Phil would be working together for the best of their companies and if someone found out that they were using sex as an arrangement, that meant that one could bring the idea of conflicts of interest to the table. They could lose everything. 

But in a way, Dan was okay with that. 

So the next Friday, Dan went to the hotel undercover, and he and Phil slept together again. And this same pattern happened every week for the next four months. As their meetings progressed, their sexual encounters did too. What started as intense but rather vanilla, turned into Dan begging to be spanked and falling into the grasp of Phil. On one occasion, Dan even asked to be choked, which Phil happily did with Dan’s consent, and Dan seriously thought he would pass out--but not from that. And when Dan wanted to be in control, Phil let him. 

Dan really felt like they were perfect pair...It’s too bad that they had too much at stake for anything else to happen. Any time he thought of anything being more than just a casual sexual relationship, he shook the thoughts out of his mind because he knew that they weren’t feasible. 

Especially not on the week of their 5th meeting. 

Dan was shaking in anticipation of that Friday. He and Phil had been texting, keeping in contact with each other. And after a particularly flirty texting session that left Dan so desperate that he shoved his hand down his pants where he stood, to say he was ready for that release again was an understatement. 

However, a sudden meeting is called and Dan is snapped from those obscene thoughts. He makes his way to the meeting room just in time to see everyone already sitting down with a powerpoint booted up on the pull down screen. 

“What is going on?” Dan asks out loud, hoping to get an answer. 

Phil looks up from his laptop that is perched at the end of the table, “Galacian has decided to discontinue the merger. We will continue to run independently.” 

The words cut through Dan’s skin and pierce his blood as he shivers and shakes, “What the fuck do you mean you’re backing out?!” 

“My company ran the numbers and we don’t think it’s of our company’s best interest to go through with the merger. Our games have suddenly increased in sales and with the next release from us being highly anticipated with over 5 million preorders around the world, we believe it’s unwise for us to continue with the merger.” 

“This is unbelievable!” Dan shouts. Others around the room stand up and a few rush over to him to get him to calm down but Dan fights them off, shoving his chair back so it topples onto the floor, “You wasted my company’s time and my time, just to back out right before a deal is made.” He points his finger at Phil and Phil’s expression is void. It’s unreadable because there is nothing there. 

It’s empty. 

And that hurts Dan more than he realized considering their arrangement. He felt betrayed, hurt and cut deep right to his core. Had Phil used him this entire time? 

Dan storms out of the room before anything else can be said. He makes a beeline for his office and finds his body moving automatically as if shoves all of the things on his desk onto the floor into a pile. All of the hard work of the last few months was wasted. He wasted money, time, and resources and now it was all for nothing. 

But when his phone dings in his pocket and he picks it up and sees a text from Phil asking if they were still meeting Friday, Dan says  _ yes  _ and then briefly wonders if he’s a masochist...that he likes the self-sabotage. 

He doesn’t think too much about it. 

* * *

Friday comes and Dan beats himself up as he goes to the concierge in the library and says that he’s  _ Richard Griffin wondering if Mr. Fletcher was available in room 1217.  _ It was the same thing he said every time he’s come. 

One phone call later and he’s knocking three knocks onto the door. Phil opens it up and Dan has half a mind to not punch him. 

“I’m surprised you still came.” 

“I’m surprised I did too,” Dan says, biting back the pain in his words. “You pulled quite a damn stunt at the company earlier this week.” 

“Dan, there is a reason for that,” Phil says. “Come in and sit with me for a while. I got some wine we can open and share. We need to talk.” 

So Dan walks inside and sits opposite of Phil at the table provided in the corner of the suite. He takes the glass of wine and swallows half of it, ignoring the taste telling him he was drinking it wrong. He needed to get the liquid courage in to prepare for anything Phil had to say. 

“I really have grown to like you,” Phil says, “And our arrangements. But it’s gotten too risky. We might not have gotten caught, but it’s only a matter of time really before we might. My company is just starting to quick off again, and I don’t want to lose it.” 

“So that’s why you backed out of our deal then?” Dan asks. “Because you’re too greedy to lose your company.” 

“No, Dan…” Phil lets out a sigh, “I’m not greedy for the company. I’m  _ greedy  _ for you.” 

Dan swirls the wine in his glass and tries not to let the words break through his skin and infiltrate his heart. 

“I stopped the merger because I want more than just casual sex with you.” 

That stops Dan’s heart and he feels his breath quicken as he looks up at Phil. 

“What are you saying?” 

“I’m saying I would like for us to officially begin a relationship. I stopped the merger because I was afraid of what it would look like if our companies found out that we were sleeping together. With our company’s being separate entities, it’ll look a lot better if we were found out than while we were merging. You know the gossip would go…” 

Dan had a hard time wrapping his head around what Phil just said, “But that’s doesn’t make any sense?” 

“It’s does to me,” Phil says, “But I understand that you’re rightly upset with me and I don’t expect you to be anything otherwise. I know backing out of the deal hurt a lot of people.” 

“I think I need time.” 

The phrase leaves Dan’s mouth before he can properly think about what he’s saying. He pushes his wine glass further onto the table and stands up from his chair. He grabs his jacket and puts it on, heading for the door. 

Just as he opens it, he hears a muffled,  _ I understand  _ come from Phil. He shuts the door before the tears of frustration and confusion begin. 

* * *

2 weeks. 

That’s what it took for Dan to reach back out to Phil again. He was busy at his company getting everything straightened up after the fall through of their deal. But with everything relatively back to normal, he had time to think again. 

Think about Phil and think about what was happening. 

He would be lying if he said he didn’t have feelings for Phil. After hearing Phil’s confession to him, it hit him that he felt the same way. It was more than just sex. Yeah, the sex was nice in the times that they met up, but he liked Phil too. He liked his personality, how easy he was to get to know. 

Sometimes after sex, they would find themselves talking about who they were to each other. Dan learnt Phil had a successful brother who was the head of a music production company. Likewise, Dan told Phil about his own family, and how his father was the head of his company’s parent company before it dissolved into Dan’s. 

Dan truly felt like he knew Phil. It was scary how fast Dan had realized that when he stopped to think. Dan doesn’t think that in his entire dating life, he’s ever fallen so fast for another person. What started as sex, turned into feelings that Dan didn’t ever realize were truly there. 

So on that Friday night, Dan texted Phil and asked if they could break the first rule and Phil replied with yes. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, please show the art some love by going on my tumblr and reblogging the fic with the art included! My tumblr is now @paradisobound. I'll link the art directly as soon as my artist posts as well.


End file.
